Spring Forward, Fall Back
by LanieSullivan
Summary: AU follow-up to TWWH and leading into FFFT. What if Lee and Amanda's 'great future" had started a bit sooner, albeit with a few missteps along the way? Another answer to the "seduction" challenge. M-rated for content in chapter two.
1. Spring Training

While Amanda danced with her ex-husband to the old familiar song, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she was being watched. She pulled back from Joe and there he was. The man she hoped against hope would lead to the great future she'd told Joe she was looking forward to. She couldn't help but smile when Lee's eyes met hers.

Joe must have noticed that her attention had shifted because he stopped mid-sway and questioned, "Is everything okay?" Then he shifted his gaze to the direction of Amanda's once he noticed the bright smile on her face that he knew was not meant for him and said with a nod, "Go," as he released his hold on her.

"What?"

"He's right there. Go to him. Tell him how you feel about him. It's obvious by the look on his face that he feels the same way, so go."

"Joe, I'm not going to do that to you. We came here together tonight."

"But I'm not the one you really want to be with. I'm not going to say it again," he told her in a mock scolding tone but then smiled at her. "Go. Go start your future."

Lee's gaze was firmly on Amanda talking with her ex. They'd stopped dancing and were now talking. His heart had leapt when Amanda had pulled herself back from her ex's arms to smile that beautiful warm smile at him. But that smile had faded when her ex had stopped dancing and was now talking to her. He wished he knew what they were saying. He watched as they walked back to the table together and Amanda picked up her purse and kissed her ex. He couldn't watch anymore and turned to exit the bar.

"Thank you for understanding, Joe," Amanda said as she picked up her purse, kissed him goodbye and turned to go to Lee, only to find that he had gone. She went tearing through the bar toward the exit to find him before it was too late.

"Damn!" Lee cursed as he walked back to his car parked on the street. How could he have been so wrong? He could've sworn that the smile on Amanda's face had been meant for him, but then she was in there kissing her ex. What did it mean? Why would she have smiled like that when looking directly at him if it wasn't meant for him, if she was planning to get back together with her ex? He thought they'd grown closer over the past few months. Maybe he should just tell her how he felt before it was too late. Who was he kidding? It was already too late. She was in there kissing _him_.

"Lee, wait!"Amanda cried trying to catch up to him before he left.

Lee turned, a frown still on his face, but waited until she caught up with him to find out why she was chasing after him. He then decided to spare himself the agony of rejection and let them both get out of this gracefully. "If you're coming to let me down easy, you can save your breath."

"What? Lee, no," she answered breathlessly. "Why would you think that?"

"I saw you and your ex in there getting reacquainted."

"Lee, no. Let me explain."

"I don't need to hear it.. I get it." He shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant move as if it didn't matter.

"Lee, listen to me."

"It's okay, Amanda, I told you I get it. I want you to do whatever makes you happy."

"No, you _don't_ get it," She argued in frustration and before she even thought about what she was doing she pressed herself against him and kissed him boldly, wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss pouring every bit of feeling she had for him into it to make him understand. She felt him respond to her by sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her closer as he probed her mouth with his tongue. She opened to him and pressed herself as close to him as she could get, moaning at the feelings his kisses were invoking. She heard him moan as well and delighted in it. When the kiss finally broke due to lack of oxygen, she looked into Lee's eyes and said breathlessly, "You're what makes me happy."

Lee's heart began to turn somersaults. Had her heard her correctly? "Amanda..."

She saw the insecurity in his eyes, heard in the way he said her name. "I mean it, Lee. I'm tired of this dance we've been doing for the last two and a half years."

"Me too," He said hoarsely. "But what about..." He gestured to the bar that they'd just left.

"What about him? There's nothing there anymore. I thought you knew that. Did you think I would've kissed you like that if there were?"

"You were just kissing him too," Lee pointed out bitterly.

"That was just a good-bye kiss. Nothing more. And not like this," she reassured him, pressing her lips to his again.

Lee pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Don't do this if you're not serious. I couldn't take it." _Shit,_ he thought and mentally kicked himself for making himself so vulnerable to her.

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life," She kissed him again and this time felt him respond the way he had the first time, kissing her soundly, his mouth devouring hers as he held her tightly to him.

When the kiss ended he lightly caressed her face and questioned hopefully," "Could we go somewhere and talk?"

"Talking isn't exactly what I had in mind," she retorted with a saucy grin.

"No?" He gazed at her warily not quite sure that the blazing look he saw in her eyes really meant what he was taking it to mean.

"No," she answered with a shake of her head. "But I'm definitely okay with the going somewhere. Maybe your place?"

"That could be very dangerous," he growled low to her pressing closer to her so that she couldn't mistake the reaction that her kisses and caresses had started.

Amanda responded to his boldness, surprising him with a bold maneuver of her own, lowering one hand to his rear, pulling him even closer. "We live dangerously every day," she reminded him in a low sultry voice. "So, your place?"

"My place it is."

Lee drove like there was no tomorrow hoping that the drive to get there wouldn't kill the mood. He was once again surprised by Amanda's boldness as she laid her hand on his leg and began slowly running it up and down his inner thigh while he drove. "If you want us to get there in one piece, you should stop that," he said. "It's too damn distracting."

"Oh, how about this instead?" she said removing her hand and instead leaning over and brushing his neck with her lips.

"I think that might be worse," he said though he was loving the feel of her lips on his skin. He was grateful to see his turnoff and yanked the wheel hard to park the 'vette on the street in front of his apartment building. He jumped out as quickly as he could and opened Amanda's door for her. She flew into his arms as soon as she was free of the confining vehicle kicking the door closed behind her as they made their way to his apartment.


	2. Spring Into Action

Lee had barely unlocked the door when they were in each other arms again and they stumbled through it together. He pushed her up against the door closing it partially with the force of their combined weight as he kissed her feverishly. She reached up to push his jacket off his shoulders as he did the same with her sweater leaving them in the entryway. They continued to cling to each other sharing fiery kisses as they made their way further into the apartment knocking over his end table in the process. Even this didn't stop their frenzy for each other. They fell to the sofa together knocking the phone off its cradle, Amanda landing atop him as they continued to feed on each other, Amanda's nimble fingers unbuttoning his shirt and stroking the hard muscles beneath it. As she tried to pull it off him, they both tumbled to the floor knocking the coffee table still laden with coffee cups onto its side.

Neither of them was deterred by this. Lee, who had landed atop Amanda this time, shrugged out of his shirt and began to work on her blouse kissing each new patch of skin he exposed. He rose to his knees and pulled her up with him to straddle him as he removed her blouse entirely, her front clasp bra following behind it as he threw it across the room not caring where it landed. "Lee," Amanda cried out as he lowered his mouth to her bared breast. She leaned back to give him better access as she reached to free him from his pants, wanting to feel him, every inch of him. She pushed his pants and boxers down over his bottom as he began to work on her pants, succeeding in getting them unbuttoned and unzipped but struggling to pull them off.

"Oh, God, Amanda," he cried out as she began to stroke him boldly. He rose and pulled her to her feet, kicking off his shoes and stepping out of his pants while she did the same. He reached for her again and began an assault on her neck ravaging it with his tongue and lips delighting in the feel of her bare body against his. He then lifted her into his arms carrying her through the French doors to his bed. He laid her down and laid beside her kissing her tenderly before pulling back to gaze into her eyes and was shocked to see the raw desire burning in them He captured her lips in a passionate kiss as her covered her lithe body with his own needing to be as close to her as possible. He slipped her panties down her legs so that there were no longer any barriers between them. He slid his hand between them and stroked her center, gratified by the low moans of pleasure it evoked in her. He dipped a finger inside her to find her already wet for him.

Amanda tore her mouth from his and cried out," Lee, Please!"

"Please, what?' He said, his voice demanding as he stroked her inside and out.

"Please" she cried again.

"Tell me what you want, Amanda," he said looking deep into her eyes.

"Make love to me, Lee, please." She raised her hips toward him and when he responded only by kissing her again as he continued to stroke her, She pulled away from his kiss and cried out, "Lee, I need you, Need...you...inside,' she pleaded as she reached her peak shaking beneath him closing her eyes against the waves of pleasure that overtook her..

"Amanda, look at me," Lee said. When she opened her eyes and gazed into his, he said hoarsely, 'I love you," as he entered her slowly all the while never breaking eye contact with her.

She started to responded in kind, but found that she was only able to gasp as the feeling of having him inside her after so much anticipation overwhelmed her. She lightly stroked his face as they began to move together. She beamed at him as he clasped his hands with hers and began to thrust into her slowly clear that he was trying to make their first time together last as long as possible. She pushed against him, needing to feel all of him.

When she began to raise her hips to meet his and drive him in deeper, Lee was lost; feeling her beneath him as he'd longed to for so long, hearing her cries of pleasure as she called out his name, those cries driving him crazy with need. They moved together again and again sharing scorching kisses and whispering to each other until they tumbled over the edge together crying out each other's names.

They lay like that for a long moment, happily entwined with one another as they exchanged soft kisses and touches while their breathing slowed back to normal. Lee planted one more firm kiss to her lips and pulled back to look into her eyes and noticed they were glistening with unshed tears. "Amanda?" he said his voice worried. "What's wrong. Did I hurt you?"

"No, Lee, no," she said letting the tears fall. "Far from it. This was...I've wanted this, wanted you. I just...I'm having trouble believing it's real."

"Me too," he said kissing her softly. "This feels like a dream."

"It's not a dream," She said as she softly stroked his face pulling him down for another kiss.

When their kiss ended he raised his head to look her in the eyes again. "More like a dream come true. Amanda, I want you to know that I meant what I said. I love you. I have for a very, very long time. I was just never ready to ...you know."

"I know," she said softly as she looked up into his eyes and ran her fingers through his hair. "I know. Me either."

Lee started to shift positions, but Amanda stopped him. "No, Lee, not yet."

"But I must be crushing you," he protested.

"No, it feels amazing, your weight above me, feeling you still inside me, I don't want to lose that feeling yet." Her voice took on a pleading quality as she reached for the back of his head pulling him in for another long slow kiss.

They kissed for what felt like hours, their lips and tongues meeting repeatedly. As their kisses grew more heated, more fiery, Lee felt himself growing hard again within her. He was amazed that just her kisses could make him that way and so soon.

Amanda felt it too, relishing the feeling of his erection inside her and locked her legs around him pulling him deeper within her again. Lee groaned, rising to his knees and pulling her with him to straddle him in one fluid movement driving himself up into her while she placed her hands on his chest thumbing his masculine nipples while lowering her head to the pulse point on his neck suckling the tender skin there, "Oh, Amanda," he cried out. "That feels so good." He lowered them back on the bed feeling the need to be deeper within her and grabbed her hips to raise them higher giving him a better angle to thrust deeper and harder inside her.

Amanda continued laving Lee's neck while he drove into her faster and harder until she cried out, 'Lee, Oh, Lee!" and wrapped her arms around his back holding onto him while trembling with the force of her climax.

Lee, feeling her writhing beneath him, her muscles compressing around his manhood reached his own peak calling out her name repeatedly. He buried his face in her neck raining soft kisses on her neck and shoulder before rolling over onto his back and pulling her with him to lie atop him her head on his chest.

"God, why did we wait so long for this," Lee said once he was able to catch his breath again.

"I don't know," she replied as she raised her head to look at him. "But if I'd known we'd be this good together, I'd have jumped you a long time ago," she said with a sultry smile.

"Yeah?" he said with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah," she said kissing him tenderly. "I was just never quite ready to take that chance with you."

"So, what made you take a chance tonight?"

"Believe it or not, it was Joe."

"Really? How's that?"He asked not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"He asked me tonight if I wanted to go back and I told him no, that I wanted to go forward and it really hit me when I said it that even though you and I have been on several dates, we haven't really been moving forward. We've been in kind of a holding pattern minus the holding."

Lee laughed at her turn of phrase and said, "I guess that's true."

"Then when we were dancing and I saw you walk in, he noticed that my attention was no longer on him and he told me to go start my future. I think it was his way of giving me his blessing."

"So," Lee said nervously. "Is this the start of your future?"

"Uh-uh," She said with a shake of her head. "It's the start of _our_ future." She kissed him again softly before lying her head back down on his chest and they drifted off to sleep together.


	3. Spring Chicken

The following morning, Amanda awoke to bright sunlight streaming through the window and scrunched her eyes tighter at the unwanted intrusion, but then realizing that it was no use, finally opened them. She let out a tiny gasp as it took a moment in her half-awake state to remember where she was. She smiled then as she turned to Lee's still-sleeping form beside her and it all came flooding back to her with vivid clarity. She'd finally gotten him to see her, _really_ see her, and boy, had he ever. She slipped out of bed, fumbling for her discarded panties and pulled them on, then found one of his shirts that had been haphazardly flung over the chair in the corner and wrapped it around herself, doing up the buttons one by one as she recalled each moment of the night before.

She paused for a moment to gaze lovingly at his sleeping form and bent to lightly run her fingers through his fine hair. _So much for his claim of being a light sleeper,_ she mused. To be fair, they had been up pretty late due to their activities of the night before. Her body gave a slight shudder as she recalled each detail in vivid color as she padded barefoot through the double doors leading to the living room. "Oh my gosh," she half-chuckled when she saw the mess they'd made of his apartment in their haste to be together. She bent to return the coffee table to its upright position and picked up the coffee cups. "Coffee," she nodded firmly as she picked up the remainder of the coffee service, piled it all onto the serving tray and carried it into his kitchen.

She was grateful that she'd been here enough times that she knew where everything was and couldn't help giggling a bit that just yesterday, she'd helped him prepare coffee for Joe, never knowing at the time what that would lead to. "Joe!" she stated with alarm as she realized that she'd never called home to let anyone know that she wouldn't be there. Her mother must think that she'd spent the night with Joe since she'd left the house with him.

She finished setting the coffee to brew and hurried back to the living room where the phone still lay on the floor off its cradle. She picked up the handset, wedging it against her shoulder and reached for the cradle, depressing the switch hook in attempt to get a dial tone since it had been off the hook for so long. Nothing. She looked at it strangely, pressed it again, still nothing. She was about to check to make sure they hadn't accidentally unplugged it from the wall when she heard the booming voice of her boss.

"Scarecrow? What the hell is going on? I've been trying to get you on the phone for an hour." Billy's voice questioned.

Amanda quickly slammed the handset down onto the cradle and began gathering up her discarded clothing. Hearing Billy's voice had been like a cold dose of reality. What had she been thinking last night in being so impulsive, throwing herself at Lee and inviting herself home with him? How would this affect their working relationship? What would happen if it got around the office that playboy Scarecrow had finally bedded the wholesome housewife? Then there was Francine...she'd eat something like this up with a spoon.

Having pulled her pants on and her shoes, she searched frantically for her bra. "Where the hell is it?" she muttered, blouse in hand. She jumped and let out a little squeal when she heard the phone ring. She halted in her search for her missing bra, hastily pulled Lee's shirt off, replacing it with her own blouse, snatched up her sweater and her purse that were left by the door and hurried out.

"Amanda?" Lee called blearily as he entered the room in search of her, having been awakened by the phone. Looking around and not seeing her, he called again, "Amanda?" He let out a deep sigh when he realized that he was alone in the apartment and hastened for the ringing phone, thinking it might be her. "Amanda," he said into the phone. "Oh, Billy, hi...wrong? No, nothing's wrong," he lied. "I...uh...I just thought you were Amanda." He sank down forlornly onto his sofa as he tried hard to listen to the reason for Billy's call as he thought about just how wrong everything was.

What had he done wrong? Had he scared her by telling her he loved her? Was it too soon? He thought she felt the same way, but as he reflected back on the prior evening's events, he didn't remember hearing her ever say the words, "I love you." Yes, she had said she'd wanted him for a long time. She'd pretty much made that fact obvious in her exuberance when they were making love. She wanted him, great, but so did a lot of women. Even though he only had eyes for her these days, that still didn't make him blind to the way women looked at him as if undressing him with their eyes.

 _"I've wanted this, wanted you,"_ her words came back to haunt him. Was that all it was? Did she even see it as making love? It had seemed so when she'd pleaded with him to make love to her, but was that said that way just in the heat of the moment? If it wasn't, then why did she leave without so much as a goodbye?

"Yeah, Billy, give me an hour to shower and get dressed and I'll be right there," he told his boss when Billy had finished explaining to him what was going on. If Amanda had still been there with him, he'd have told Billy to find someone else, but now throwing himself into work was just what he needed to get his mind off of her.

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On her cab ride back to Dooley's to get her car and all the way back to Arlington, Amanda's thoughts were in a whirl. Last night had been...amazing, to say the least and hearing Lee tell her that he loved her was equally amazing. Now, though...now she had her doubts. Had he meant it? Had he just said it because he felt he had to since they'd been so intimate? How would he look at her now? She cringed a little as she remembered the state of his living room. They hadn't even properly closed the front door in their hurry to make it to his bedroom and she'd been so...so...brazen about what she wanted from him, more than she ever had been in her life.

What kind of woman would he think she was now? She couldn't help wondering what he must be thinking of her. With the way she'd behaved last night, she imagined it would be easy for him to think of her as just another one of his "black book" girls. She shook her head. "No," she argued with herself. He knew her well enough to know better than to think that about her...didn't he? She pondered going back to talk to him just to clear the air, but by the time she had that thought, she was already halfway across the Key Bridge and she knew she would need to face the music with her mother for not calling too. No, it was better to just go straight home, deal with her mother first, and call Lee later. That would give them some cooling-off time and give them both some time to think about where they should go from here. After all, her family hadn't even met him yet.

She pulled into her driveway and shut the engine off, taking a deep breath to steel herself for the interrogation she knew was going to come as soon as she came face to face with her mother. She just hoped that it was early enough that her mother wasn't up yet so she could put it off for just a little while longer. She crept in through the French doors, taking her shoes off as soon as she was inside, carrying them on the off chance that her mother was up, so as to make as little noise as possible. She had just reached the landing at the bottom of the staircase, breathing a sigh of relief that she had missed her mother.

"Hold it right there, Missy," Dotty's scolding voice sounded behind her making her jump just like the ringing of the phone at Lee's place had.

 _Busted,_ she grimaced and feeling much like she had when she was a teenager caught sneaking in late, turned to face her mother. "Mother, I can explain."


	4. Fallout

"Explain?" Dotty questioned as she rushed toward her daughter. "Oh, Amanda, there's nothing that you need to explain!" She hugged her tightly. "I'm so happy for you, Darling!"

"You are?" Amanda blinked in confusion. Surely, she couldn't know where she'd been last night. And how could her mother be happy for her when she wasn't even sure how she felt about things herself? Unless...

"Joe called last night and explained _everything_ ," Dotty gushed as she released her daughter and smiled brightly at her.

"He did?" Her brow furrowed and she inquired, "What exactly did he explain?" Surely, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to tell her about Lee, not knowing what he did about the agency.

"Well, when he called, he said that you might be home a little late and wanted to make sure that it was okay if I looked after the boys and got them into bed. I was so hoping that the two of you would be able to patch things up. I mean, I know things didn't end on the greatest of terms because you were separated so much, but really the two of you were always so close even after your divorce and the fact that you were able to still remain friends, I always wondered if there wasn't still hope for you to reconcile and now, you have."

"Whoa!" Amanda's eyes widened in panic. Was that what she thought? She couldn't allow that train of thought to continue down the tracks. "Mother, slow down! In fact, stop completely. Is that what you think happened? That I was with Joe last night? That we-" She shuddered and broke off. The thought that her mother still wanted her to reconcile with Joe after everything was too much for her to consider right now.

"Weren't you?" Dotty's face fell.

"No, Mother, I was _not_ with Joe. I mean, I was for the early part of the evening, but we just went for pizza, had a couple of beers and got caught up, but that's all there was to it. Joe and I are not getting back together... _ever_."

"You're not?"

"No."

"Oh," Dotty replied dejectedly.

She made a sour face at the disenchanted tone in her mother's voice and asked, "Did he tell you that? That we were getting back together or that I was spending the night with him?"

"Well...no, but naturally when you didn't come home, I assumed-"

"Well, _un_ -assume. It's not happening," she told her mother adamantly. To be honest, she wasn't sure anything was happening with Lee either, but it definitely was not happening with Joe. That ship had sailed. In fact, it had sailed to New Guinea by now.

Dotty's expression changed from one of disappointment to one of morbid curiosity. "If you weren't with Joe, then where were you? When he said you might be home late, I took that to mean that you'd be home this morning like you are now and I-" How could she have been so wrong about things? "Amanda, what is going on? Where were you?"

"It's not what it looks like." _Liar,_ Amanda scolded herself. It's _exactly_ what it looks like.

"Of course it's not," her mother snorted disbelievingly.

"Look, I'll explain it all to you another time," _Maybe when I understand it myself,_ she mentally added. "But right now, I really need to get in the shower."

"Of course, you do," Dotty huffed as she narrowed her eyes at her evasive daughter.

"Mother, don't look at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you like anything," Dotty sniffed in an affronted tone."I just wish you would share a bit more of your life with me...like where you were last night, for instance. What were you doing..." She took a look at her daughter and really saw the state she was in, the unkempt hair, the disheveled clothing, the look of guilt on her face. "Never mind, I _know_ what you were doing, but with whom, if not with Joe? That's the real question. As far as I know, you haven't been seeing anyone."

 _No, someone hasn't been seeing me,_ Amanda thought miserably, but before she could answer, her mother changed her tone and said, "No, I promised myself I wouldn't pry into your life anymore. If you want to share with me, you will."

"Mother..." Amanda gave her an exasperated look.

"Go get your shower. I'll have breakfast ready for you when you come back down."

Amanda sighed. She knew there was no talking to her mother when she got like this and while the opportunity was still there, she trotted up the stairs to get cleaned up just as the phone began to ring.

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After hanging up the phone, Lee hung his head as his thoughts continued to plague him. All the doubts that he'd had regarding pursuing a serious relationship with Amanda began rearing their ugly heads. He'd known from the beginning that she was unlike any woman he'd ever dated before. Hell, she was different from any woman he'd ever known before, let alone the ones he'd dated. She was...there was no other word for it...she was special and she deserved so much...more.

 _If she's so great, then why'd she leave you high and dry,_ a bitter voice in his head jeered at him. He shook his head as if it would help him to shake off those nagging thoughts. When he rose from the couch and his sleep-deprived head began to clear a bit, he realized that he smelled fresh coffee. He padded to the kitchen to find a full, fresh pot of coffee. "What the hell?" he questioned aloud. Why would she make coffee if she wasn't planning to stay? He saw the serving tray from yesterday's impromptu meeting with her ex and the Estoccian prime minister on the countertop.

He walked back into his living room and noticed that she'd set the coffee table upright before leaving and obviously, since the phone had rung, she'd picked it up too. If she'd done all that, had taken the coffee service back into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee to boot, surely she'd have taken the time to leave him a note or something. He looked around and when not seeing one anywhere, began to feel disheartened again.

Why had she left with no explanation? He glanced at the phone then at his clothes still on the floor. She hadn't picked them up and he noticed the dress shirt he'd word to the office was there along with the clothes she'd taken off of him last night. He knew she was a bit of a neat freak, so if she'd done all the other stuff, why didn't she pick them up too? Did something come up? _The kids,_ he thought. Of course, why hadn't he thought of it before? She had to get home to her kids. He knew that she hadn't had time last night to call to let anyone know that she wouldn't be home. What had happened between them had been unplanned by both of them.

His heart feeling lighter, he dialed her number and when her mother answered the phone, he greeted her, "Hello, Mrs. West. It's Lee..." He thought for a minute about the name he'd been giving her. "Uh...Lee Simpson. I work with Amanda. Is she there, by chance?"

"Yes, she is, Mr. Simpson, but I'm afraid you just missed her. She just got into the shower. Should I have her call you when she's done?"

 _The shower?_ He let out a snort. His heart sank again as he thought that she just couldn't wait to wash him off of her. "No." He shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to her. "No, thank you, Mrs. West."

"Good. I mean, it IS Sunday, after all, when no one should be working and I'm sure that she's told you that her ex-husband is back in to-"

"Thank you, Mrs. West," he cut her off. "You don't even have to tell her that I called. I'll just see her at the office tomorrow." He ended the call abruptly, not in the mood to hear Amanda's mother singing Joe King's praises. Was that it? He recalled how Joe had asked her about going back. Had she changed her mind and decided to take Joe up on it rather than take up with the likes of him? _Or maybe, her coming here hadn't been unplanned on her part at all,_ the nagging voice added.

Dotty hung up the phone and stared at the receiver for a moment, thinking about the strangeness of the phone call, before placing it back on its cradle and then gazing up the stairs her daughter had practically run up to get away from her and mused, "Mr. Simpson, huh?"


	5. Fall to Pieces

As he searched Eddie's room, Lee began to grow more frustrated every second that he didn't find what he was looking for. The goons who trashed the motel room and put Eddie in the hospital must have found it before he did. He wished now that he'd taken Billy up on his advice to bring Amanda along, justifying that she might spot something that he didn't, but her abrupt departure from his home had still been too raw, too open a wound to have her along. It would hurt too much. So here he was alone...again. "Story of my life," he muttered.

Thoughts of Amanda only brought back that pain. He couldn't help thinking that he indeed must have scared her off by telling her he loved her. What had he been thinking? After all, her ex had just been accused of murder and he hadn't been the most sympathetic partner in pumping her for information about her divorce. He remembered all too well how he'd felt the first time she'd asked him why his codename was Scarecrow. It had felt as if he'd been sucker-punched. He felt the same way now in being so close, yet still so far. Every time they got closer, something would happen to distance them from each other again.

This time, it was his own stupidity in rushing things. He'd known she was vulnerable due to her ex being back in town; her emotions had been exposed in talking about the pain of her divorce. Plus, she'd had a couple of beers in her system, yet he'd let her seduce him anyway; he had readily given in when she'd pleaded with him to make love to her. Not that it took much; all she'd had to do was touch him and he was lost. He'd wanted her for so long. _No,_ he shook his head. It hadn't even taken that much. Her kiss...those words had sent his heart soaring. If she'd been so willing and had used those words, he'd thought that she must have meant it in that way. So, he bit the bullet and told her how he'd been feeling about her, expecting to hear the same words from her...but he never had. Not once had she spoken the words that he'd really wanted to hear.

"I've got to stop thinking about this," he muttered as he kicked the nearby wastebasket and ran both hands through his hair. "Think, Stetson, think!" In his mind, he started playing back all the messages Eddie had left on his home answering machine and the coded message he'd left at the office that Billy had relayed to him. What did they mean? He snapped his fingers and raced to the bathroom of the cheap motel room.

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Amanda sat in her car stewing as she waited for her order at Marvelous Marvin's. Three days had now passed since she'd spent the night with Lee and she hadn't heard a word from him. She supposed it was her own fault for leaving the way that she had without even leaving a note. She'd been kicking herself for it ever since. _I should have at least explained,_ she thought miserably. But then again, how could she have known that Lee would be called away that very day on an assignment that would take him out of the office and that he would not be back for several days? She'd hoped to at least see him at work so that they could talk.

She had become so lost in her thoughts that the drive-thru attendant had had to yell to get her attention. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized as she reached for the bags being held out to her. "I'm holding up your line and you've got other customers to take care of." She nodded cordially, with a polite, "Thank you very much," set the bags in the passenger seat beside her and pulled away.

As she drove home, her thoughts turned back to Lee. Where was he? Why hadn't he at least called? The more time passed, the more she began to believe her earlier fears that he'd only said those three little words in the heat of the moment. The way he'd looked at her, looked straight into her eyes when he'd made love to her...she had a very hard time believing that he didn't feel _something_ for her.

Once again, her thoughts were interrupted; this time by her arriving home before she even realized it. She was so distracted that she hadn't realized she'd driven there on autopilot. She sat in her driveway with the car in park for a moment to collect her thoughts. She took a deep breath, turned the car off, snatched the fast food bags and walked up to her house. She paused for just a moment at the front door, took one more deep breath, put on her game face and entered her home. She smiled at her family as she cheerily handed out their food, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong. They didn't need to know how worried she was. After all, they wouldn't understand anyway. They'd never met Lee and didn't have a clue about her hidden life.

As if on cue, there he was. Just as she turned toward the window to extract a glass from the drainer to pour her mother some milk, she found herself looking into his beautiful eyes through the windowpane. She couldn't help smiling slightly back at his awkward smile and when he gestured with his head to the backyard, she gave a nearly imperceptible nod to acknowledge it. As he disappeared from her view, she couldn't help wondering just what the hell she was going to say to him. She hadn't seen him for days, not since they'd... _Just don't even mention it, if he doesn't,_ she told herself.

Lee stood anxiously outside Amanda's kitchen window watching her dole out food and when she turned to face the window, he smiled what he hoped was a nonchalant smile and nodded toward the backyard. When she gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement, he wandered in that direction. He took a deep breath and ran both hands through his hair in nervous anticipation. This was the first time he'd be face to face with her since... What the hell was he going to say to her? _The case...relate it to the case. Don't bring it up unless she does._

When Amanda finally slipped away from her family and out the back door, he hesitated when she said, "Hi." but without meeting his eyes the way that she normally did.

"Hi." _How am I going to do this?_ "I...uh...I just heard you with the kids. You really know your burgers."

 _That's it? That's all you've got to say to me?_ There were so many things she could have said to him in that moment; instead she just nodded and confirmed, "I'm a mother. I have to." She wedged her hands into her pockets and rocked awkwardly on her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd skulk by and say hi." He gave her an inquiring look with a slight smile to see if she'd react to his comment and tried to figure out if that's how she thought of him. He'd been hoping with the way she'd spoken of the future that she'd have invited him into the house for a change when she'd seen him at the window.

"Very funny," she replied in a tone that told him she thought it was anything but.

He chuckled uncomfortably and decided it was best to just get right down to business. "Actually, I was looking for a business partner. You interested?"

 _Business partner?_ She mulled those words over in her mind as she bit down on her lower lip. _Was that all he was here for...business?_ "Yeah, I guess so," she responded warily. "What kind of business?"

"Does it matter?" he retorted.

"No."

Her terse reply set Lee's teeth on edge, so he tried a different approach."It's right up your alley. Double Wham-Os, Torpedoes, Choco-Blocko shakes..."

"Mega Mug o' Cola, no ice," she chimed in with a bit of a smile.

"Right," he confirmed and couldn't help smiling back at her enthusiasm.

"I'll do it," she agreed thinking maybe it would give them a much-needed chance to talk.

"Good." He nodded, his smile widening. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

"Amanda?" Dotty's voice ran out. "Your food's gonna' get cold."

"Ooh, you gotta' get out of here before she sees you," Amanda scolded and gave him a shove toward the driveway when she heard her mother's voice moving closer to the patio.

 _Or maybe it is,_ he thought glumly as he walked away. Clearly, she wasn't ready for the "future' she'd talked about when they were in bed if she still wasn't ready for him to meet her family and insisted that he hide from them.

He sank down into the driver's seat of his car with a shake of his head. He slammed a fist into the console beside him, knocking the mobile phone from its cradle. He glowered at it for a moment, but then picked it up and began dialing as a thought struck him. "Billy," he said into the phone when his boss answered. "Is it too late to change our covers? I'm thinking that a husband and wife cover isn't quite right for this kind of investigation. If we go in as brother and sister instead, we can cover more ground."


	6. Fall Out of Favor

"You are making a mistake, Amanda," Dotty scolded as she stood in the doorway of Amanda's bedroom and watched her daughter pack for her "work" trip.

Amanda sighed. "How is going on a business trip a mistake?" she questioned her mother.

"Oh, business, is it?" Dotty questioned disbelievingly.

"Yes, Mother, it's business," she confirmed. "Just business." She felt a painful stab in her heart at that thought as she forced herself to focus on neatly folding and packing her clothes for the trip.

"So, I suppose that it's just coincidence that this 'business trip' just happens to be with Mr. Simpson and just happens to fall on a weekend?" She rolled her eyes. "How much business can you really get done on a weekend, other than monkey business?"

"Mother!" Amanda gaped at her.

"I'm not stupid, Amanda. Do you honestly think I don't know that it's Mr. Simpson that you spent the night with last weekend?"

"Oh, you're really jumping to conclusions here." She abruptly turned back to her packing to avoid looking her mother in the eye.

"Am I?" She folded her arms across her chest. "Then explain to me why, not ten seconds after you went off to take your shower, he called here asking for you and when I told him that you were unavailable, he hung up so quickly and so forcefully that I thought he must have broken his phone."

Amanda turned back to her mother, a look of incredulity on her face. "Lee called?" Her heart leapt at the thought that he hadn't been ignoring her, after all. Maybe he'd called to tell her that he was going out of town ahead of time...or even to talk to her about their relationship after she'd left so quickly. "He called that day? Why didn't you tell me?"

"He told me not to," Dotty answered. "Said it wasn't important and there was no need for you to call back."

Amanda shook her head, finished her packing and hurried down the stairs, now wondering just why he'd called that day. Also, she wondered why her mother hadn't told her about his call. She recalled how disappointed her mother had seemed when she'd told her that she hadn't spent the night with Joe. Was she still harboring some secret hope that they'd reunite? Was she trying to keep her and Lee apart? Or had she simply kept quiet because she's been angry about not hearing the whole truth from her daughter? Surely, she wouldn't have neglected to say something simply because Lee has said so. After all, she'd still never met him face to face.

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On the car trip, Lee and Amanda barely spoke two words to one another that weren't about their upcoming investigation. The long silences and uncomfortable pauses made both of them extremely nervous. "So...uh...what kind of place are we going to be staying at?" Amanda questioned uncertainly while picking at her cuticles and avoiding looking at him. She hoped that it would be a place with a large enough room for her to have her own space if need be. Less than a week ago, she'd have been thrilled to have been on another undercover "couple" assignment with him and for the first time, would not have minded sharing a bed with him...for the job, of course. But now...now, it was even more awkward than it had been when they'd still been getting to know each other.

"Hey, look." Lee nodded to the building as he pulled the 'vette into the parking lot of the Foxrun Motel. "We're here. See for yourself." He breathed a sigh of relief that they'd finally arrived. Never had a thirty-minute drive seemed so long to him since he was sharing that ride with the a woman he loved, who clearly didn't love him in return.

Amanda blanched once she saw the building in question. _Close quarters in a place like this,_ she thought as she nearly jumped out of the vehicle and darted to the trunk to retrieve her bag. Her nervousness had just been ratcheted up tenfold at that thought. She began babbling, "You know, there are a few things that we probably oughtta' talk about before we get checked in."

"Yeah?" he questioned nervously, but before he could say anything further, Amanda's rambling stopped him in his tracks.

"Now, I know that we don't have any problems now, but we're out here in the parking lot, in the middle of the day and we wouldn't want any problems later...So, if we could just get a few things straight right now..."

"Amanda, this really isn't necessary-" he attempted to interject.

"I know it isn't, but just indulge me, okay?"

"Oh, okay," he muttered.

"Well, all right, in the first place, I like to take my shower first thing in the morning."

Lee's entire body tensed at her statement. The last thing he wanted to do was think of her in the shower. "Uh-huh," he nodded. _Why is she telling me this?_

"Now, I know that there are some men that like to go into the bathroom... and they lock the door...and they go in there with the newspaper...and they shave...and they read the paper..."

"Yes, yes, yes," Lee grumbled again wondering where she was going with this. Was this the reason that she'd bolted on him? Had she had more problems with her marriage with Joe than she'd let on and was afraid that he'd be the same way?

"...And I don't know what they do in there," Amanda's babbling continued, "...but they take over an hour...and I just hope that you're not one of those kind of guys, you know?"

"Well, I do-" Lee tried again to input his thoughts.

"Well, anyway, even if you are, maybe we can figure out some kind of a compromise that's comfortable for both of us." She clasped her hands tightly together to steady her nerves for the more difficult concern on her mind, but then unclasped them again as she explained to him about her need to have a window cracked open at night. She was hoping that was a habit of hers that he could live with since she'd begun thinking since learning of his phone call, that maybe she'd misunderstood his intentions.

Lee let out a deep sigh of frustration and finally gave up trying to add his two cents until she finally paused to take a breath. "Amanda," he replied a bit shortly to get her attention.

"Yeah?" She couldn't help noticing the stern look on his face. Was it too much? She'd tried to throw things out there in the hopes that he'd understand that she was not only talking about this assignment, but maybe things they might have to deal with in the future...if they had one.

"We're registered as brother and sister," he stated succinctly.

"You and me?" Her face fell. _I guess not,_ she thought dismally.

"Yes, we've got our own room, bedroom, bathroom, the works." He gazed at her and tried to discern what the expression on her face was about. Was it possible that it was disappointment that they wouldn't be sharing a room as they had in the past?

"Oh, well, that will make things..." She paused. _Make things_ w _hat? Less awkward, for sure, but it also means we won't have a chance to talk things out._ "...much easier," she finished. There was no way that she was going to open that can of worms if he didn't.

"Yeah." He let out a self-conscious chuckle.

Had he done this on purpose? Was this just more of the swinging bachelor persona creeping in to keep her at a distance now that they'd slept together? Was it possible that all the ugly things she'd heard about him ditching women if they got too close was really true? "We don't look a thing alike," she injected sarcastically as she snatched up her bag and walked away.

Lee frowned at her sudden departure and hurried to catch up to her. What the hell was she pissed about? He'd thought in having them registered as brother and sister, she'd be pleased that they didn't have to deal with the discomfort of sharing a room. Now, she was acting as if she were disappointed by it. Did she _want_ to share a room with him? Or maybe even share his bed again? It was true that their night together had been incredible and one that he wouldn't mind repeating, but not if she only saw it as scratching an itch. He wanted something real with her; a real future like the one she'd hinted that she had wanted that night. He was so distracted by his thoughts of her that he'd nearly forgotten his cover until their hostess, Carla, asked for his name. He cast a sideways glance at Amanda, as he attempted to introduce her as well. Did she still want a future with him?

"Amanda Keen," she chimed in. "Married once, cured forever."

 _Apparently not._ Lee pasted on a fake smile at the hostess, but couldn't help the inward shudder at the flippant tone in Amanda's voice when she'd introduced herself to Carla. It clearly was not directed at Carla, but at him. Or was it directed at Joe's recent return? He tried to console himself with that idea, but once they got upstairs and she made the crack about brothers and sisters being allowed on the same floor, it was quite clear that it was about him.

Amanda snorted and shook her head at Lee's reply about being lucky they were in the same hotel. "Great view of the parking lot," she muttered in frustration, but really wanting to scream at him that if he'd set up their cover as a couple the way that he always had in the past, it wouldn't have been a struggle to get them into the same hotel.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Lee grumbled when seeing his own room and was about to say something more only to be startled by the slamming of her door.


	7. Fall Head Over Heels

After leaving the bar, Lee and Amanda were in his room discussing the case, both avoiding discussing anything personal, as well as avoiding making eye contact. Lee paced restlessly while Amanda idly flipped through a magazine trying to pretend she was interested in a four-year-old article and photo spread on the splashy wedding of Charles and Diana. _They really need to update their magazine selection_ , she couldn't help thinking. The idea of weddings tore at her heart.

When they had both run out of things to say regarding the case, she finally glanced up at him. One of them had to be the first to break the ice and she knew that he would never do so. "Lee..."

"Hmm?" He turned to face her.

"Don't you think it's time we talked about...things?" She gave him a pointed look.

"I thought that's what we were just doing," he responded obtusely.

"Don't do that, Lee. Don't pretend that you think I'm talking about work. You know very well what I'm talking about."

"Okay, fine! You wanna' talk about it. Here's what I have to say on the subject," he barked angrily, all the emotion he'd been feeling over the past week pouring out at once. "You said you wanted a future with me, said that you wanted to 'go forward.' You practically threw yourself at me, begged for me to make love to you and then you...you." His voice trailed off as he began pacing again. "For God's sake, Amanda, I poured my heart out to you, told you that I love you; that I HAVE loved you for a long time and you never once...not one time...said it in return." He halted in his pacing and glowered at her. "Then, you...you just left. No note, no explanation. How the hell is a guy supposed to feel about that, huh? Do you know the last time I said 'I love you' to a woman? NEVER! That's not an easy thing for me to do and for you to be all, 'oh, that's nice' but never...never say it back-"

"I _did_ say it back," Amanda argued as she rose from her seat and met his glare with one of her own.

"No, you didn't!"

"I most certainly did!" Did he think that she was the kind of woman who'd just jump into bed with a man that she didn't love? Didn't he know anything about her at all?

"No, Amanda, you most definitely did not! If the woman I love had said those words, I'd have remembered something like that." He crossed his arms tightly as he tried to get a grip on his emotions.

"I did. I'm sure I did!" When he continued his stare, she questioned, "I didn't?" He shook his head and she began to reflect on the events of that night. "I didn't," she confirmed in a soft voice as it hit her that she really hadn't; that she'd been so caught up in the euphoria of the moment, of finally being in his arms that the words had never come out as she'd intended. "Lee, I-I-I don't know what to say."

"What can you say? If you don't feel it, you don't feel it." He shrugged as if it no longer mattered to him.

"Lee..." She approached him and lightly touched his folded arms, but he didn't budge. "I _do_ feel it."

"You do?" He gazed at her questioningly, hope rising in him at the sincere expression on her lovely face. He dropped his arms to his sides.

"Yes, I do." She reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his reassuringly. "I love you, Lee. I have loved you for so long that it's hard for me to remember a time that I didn't love you. That's why it was so hard for me to share all that stuff with you about Joe...about why our marriage ended. I-I-I was scared. I thought if you knew that he...that he chose his job over me, that you'd-" She let out a deep sigh. "I didn't think there'd be a chance that you'd want me if you knew that even the father of my children didn't; a man who vowed to love me forever. The words aren't easy for me to say either because of that." She hung her head guiltily.

Lee hooked a finger under her chin to get her to face him, and then ran his hand down her face, tenderly caressing her cheek. "Joe King is an idiot for leaving a woman like you behind." He searched her eyes and saw traces of pain in them. "Does that mean..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

"No, what?" She squeezed his hand tighter to keep him from pulling away from her as he had a tendency to do.

"I...um...I was just thinking about that crack you made downstairs. 'Married once, cured forever.' Is that how you really feel?"

"Yes..." When his face fell, she added, "... _and_ no. It was how I felt when Joe and I were first divorced. It's like you said once, I feel very strongly about marriage. It's supposed to be forever and it...it wasn't. Now, if I ever thought about getting married again, I guess...I mean, I think I'd want to make sure that it _will_ be forever."

"So, you think..." He paused and took a deep breath to steel himself, not sure he wanted to hear her answer, but needing to know. "Do you think that it could be...forever, I mean... with me?"

"I do," she answered instantly.

With his heart feeling a thousand pounds lighter, he leaned in to kiss her but before he made contact, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Knowing that it was probably Francine, Lee shifted back into work mode with a frustrated sigh, and as he walked to the door said, "This is a perfect chance to work Metz. Get inside his head; see what makes him tick."

Amanda sank back down into her chair dejectedly and resumed the pretense of being interested in the magazine just as Lee opened the door to admit Francine. She rolled her eyes at the blond agent's "cozy," comment and told her sharply, "My room's down the hall." _Unfortunately,_ she mentally added.

The night only went downhill from there as she and Lee seemed to be back to their old selves, teasing and flirting about "field experience" and she'd tried to reassure him further by inviting him into her room, but as luck would have it, Francine again showed up to ruin things. She was at least a bit reassured herself that he'd seemed open to it and that the unbearable tension between them had lifted.

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Once the case had been wrapped up, Lee had delivered on his promise for dinner and a very special bottle of wine. After dinner, they sat and relaxed together on his sofa, Lee's arm draped loosely across her shoulders. "This is nice," he sighed in contentment.

"It really is," she agreed as she basked in the attention he'd been showing her all night. She gave a dramatic shudder, "Except..."

"Except?" he questioned, his eyes dancing in anticipation.

"Well, you know, after being stuck in the freezer, I think I'm still a little cold." She draped her legs across his lap and linked her arms around his neck.

"I did promise to warm you up, didn't I?" He responded with a light brush of his lips against hers.

"Yes. Yes, you did." She nodded, but as he leaned toward her to kiss her again, she placed a finger to his lips. "One thing first..." He gave her a questioning look. "I love you, Lee."

"I know that now," he replied warmly. The uncertainty he'd felt after their first night together was now a distant memory. "And I love you."

"Just wanted to get it out there, so there's no more confusion." She tugged on the back of his head to pull him to her for a searing kiss. When they parted, both breathless, she added, "And I want you to know that I meant what I said about wanting us to have a future together."

"Good." He smiled affectionately at her. "What kind of future did you have in mind?"

"We'll figure out some kind of a compromise that's comfortable for both of us," she repeated her words from the motel parking lot. "For now, I think in the immediate future..." She gave him a seductive grin. "Now, that we've had dinner, I think I'd very much like some dessert."

"Oh, dessert, huh?" He nuzzled her neck and in a low voice, crooned into her ear, "What kind of dessert did you have in mind?"

"You know," she replied with a sigh at his touch.

"I think I do, but you'd better say it just to make sure that we don't have any more misunderstandings."

She clasped his face in both of her hands, looked him straight in the eyes and with no trace of hesitation in her voice, told him bluntly, "I want to make love with you."

"Me too...with you, I mean...just you from now on, but only if you promise me that you'll still be here for breakfast in the morning."

Amanda nodded. "As long as you promise to eat it with me. You don't eat right, you know."

"I promise."

"See? Compromising already." She rose, took his hand in hers and they walked to the bedroom together unhurriedly. She beamed at him when she noticed that the window was cracked 'just about that much.' "You remembered," she squealed in delight.

"Mm-hmm," he murmured against her as he wrapped his arms around her. "And for the record, I like to shower in the evening and I'm not one for reading the paper in the bathroom."

She laughed heartily. "That's good to know, but suppose that we want to shower together one of these days?"

"Then we can figure out some kind of a compromise that's comfortable for both of us," he echoed her words back to her as he backed her up toward his bed. "In fact, I think we need to do that more often...don't you?"

"Mm-hmm...I think-"

Lee cut off her words with his lips on hers. "No more thinking," he insisted as it occurred to him just how many times the two of them had used that phrase during the course of this conversation. "We've done too much of that and not enough doing."

"You're right. So more doing in the future...and more talking," she added.

"But for now..." He grinned impishly at her. "Dessert?"

"Dessert," she confirmed with a nod. "And breakfast tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." He nodded back with a dimpled smile and them finally kissed her with all the love in his heart, as they both looked forward to many future tomorrows together.


End file.
